Barflies
by helebette
Summary: Gale and Sidney come to an understanding.


Sidney realizes that she and Gale have become friends when Gale makes up a nickname for her.

"The Girl Who Lived," Gale laughs as she tries to hear, over the sound of loud, cheesy dance music, whatever it is that Sidney is saying. "That's your name, Sid. You're The Girl Who Lived. And Imma get me some fame writing with…about…with…you." Gale hiccups comically and leans over with glossy eyes.

The music in the bar is loud and there is a strange man insistently chattering in Gale's ear. Sidney is trying to convince Gale to leave. Sidney does not tell Gale that she is only there, at the bar, because Dewey called fifteen times in three hours, wondering where his soon-to-be-ex-wife is, and whether or not she's ok.

"Gale, what are you even doing here?" Sidney's tone is pleading by now. "Let's go someplace quiet. We'll talk. About whatever you need to talk about."

"I'm doing what I do. And talking is the last thing on my mind." is Gale's response. A martini sloshes over the bar and Gale apologizes because some of it hits Sidney's shoes.

Sidney draws the line when Flo-Rida comes on the speakers and another guy joins the Gale-Random Skeeve mix.

It takes an hour to drive to Sidney's house in the country. They sit in Sidney's backyard, on big wooden chairs beneath a tree Sidney had pruned when its branches reached too closely to her bedroom window. In fact even as they sit, Gale notes that Sidney is totally casing her own house-scanning it out of habit, just in case there are weak spots in the security measures she's had installed.

Sidney has given Gale enough glasses of water to drown her, and it does the trick. Then Sidney goes on about herbal teas and which might be best for a hangover, and Gale rolls her eyes and decides to change the subject.

Gale says, "So. Deputy Fucking Lemon Square is fucking my husband. Did you know?"

Sidney winces. She did not know. But she doesn't have to ask who the hell 'Deputy Fucking Lemon Square' is, because they all sort of became friends before the affair began. "Sorry Gale. I'm really sorry."

"I was his first, you know." Gale whispers. "Which was probably the worst thing ever. How was I supposed to compete with that?"

Sidney nods and winces again. The problem was-is-that the reverse is not true. Gale has had actual life experience. Her husband of a decade had not. Other than running from a masked killer, of course, but that mess is a shared experience.

When Sidney gets up to make the blessed herbal tea, Gale grabs her hand and begins to cry.

That is how they end up hugging.

How they end up kissing is up for debate. And they do debate it-often and over a long period of time.

The hugging thing goes on awhile. Gale stops crying pretty quickly into it but doesn't pull away. Sidney does pull away and her mouth accidently and awkwardly brushes close to Gale's. And Sidney's hand does this sort of comforting petting thing over Gale's forehead which is reminiscent of times when Sidney has saved Gale's life.

They don't kiss, at first, but just sort of bump lips by accident. Gale, truth be told, is the one who turns it into something.

Sidney says things like, "Wait, I'm not sure if this is a good idea." And Gale says things like, "Shut up, don't think," and their mouths are warm and fit perfectly and Sidney is starving for it so she lets the kissing go on for way too long until tongues slide against teeth. Sidney surprises herself by moaning which inspires Gale to put her hands on Sidney's thighs.

They stop kissing and stare at one another before Gale gets up. Sidney trails behind Gale as the other woman makes her way into the house. Sidney locks the back door and spends a moment in the quietness of the kitchen, listening to Gale's footsteps on the stairs.

Gale is checking the bedrooms when Sidney finds her.

"Locking up." Gale mutters. "You have a good amount of locks to take care of. Just be a second."

Sidney always makes sure that the house is closed up well when she leaves, but the whole thing has become a bit compulsive for her, so she allows Gale the time it takes to double check all of the windows.

And then Gale is close again and Sidney breaths a sigh of something like relief. She doesn't know why, but this woman who once earned so much of her derision, now earns her respect. More than that-Sidney feels oddly safe when Gale is around.

Gale's dress is light blue and tight and Sidney takes a few seconds to look at it and run her hands over the material. Sidney's own dress is fairly similar but is black.

Gale pushes Sidney until her calves hit the edge of the bed.

Sidney is breathing hard, her eyes flitting over Gale's shoulder to the window.

"It's ok. Window's locked." Gale mutters against Sidney's neck, kissing once, twice-as many times as it takes before S begins to relax against the insistent body pressing her to the bed. "Besides" Gale adds, reaching around to unzip her own dress. "I've got your back."

Their eyes lock as dawning realization lights up Sidney's eyes. "Yes, you do, don't you." Sidney replies and smiles, that sweet, bright smile Gale hasn't really seen very often since they first met.

Sidney flips them, reaching to help Gale with a suddenly stuck zipper, and just like that, the power shits again.

"You would be a total top." Gale quips, eyes widening as her dress is removed and the total lack of underwear and bra she bothered with is revealed. "I think that you should…Huuuuuunnnnnhhhhhh…" Gale tries to say that she thinks that they should take this a bit slow, or maybe Sidney should tell her what she wants, or something, but instead Sidney's fingers are already playing between Gale's thighs and Gale is already too turned on to speak and-_-_how many women has Sidney been with to know so much about how to do this? Sidney's fingers slide inside and Gale clasps her shoulders and holds on.

Gale doesn't, for some reason, want to come just yet. Not before undressing Sidney and not before she finds a way to wipe some more of that fearfullness and strange emptiness from Sidney's eyes.

"Hey." Gale mutters against Sidney's shoulder. She leans back and brushes her hands against the sides of Sidney's face. Still, those eyes are just dark and see past Gale. She tries again. "Sid? Can we get beneath the covers? I'm cold." She isn't, but her words touch something that makes Sidney nod and let go.

"Wait." Gale clasps Sidney's wrist before the other woman can sneak away, to undress in the shadows. "let me watch. It's only fair." She grins and gestures to her own naked form.

They wake up at the same time the next morning. It is 10am and both suspect that the late hour is a habit of the other.

Sidney is on her left side while Gale is on her stomach and has to crane her neck around to see Sidney's back. Needing to make light of the situation, Gale shifts the sheets aside and glances at Sidney.

"You have a great ass." Gale's voice creaks a little with the early hour and effects of a night of far too many martinis.

Sidney can't help but laugh and turns over to face the day.

**One year later…**

Their relationship would never be conventional.

Sidney had heat sensors installed in the house the day Gale moved in, and became obsessed with moving to Canada the day after that. "Less crime", Sidney insisted. And having two writers under the same roof meant that they kept strange hours and had quirky habits like interrupting each other for sex, or eating cereal all day-the latter being a habit Gale tried to curb when Sidney's stress-related illnesses required more diligence.

Over time, they began to balance each other out. The town market, seasonal events, even a speaking engagement or two about the Woodsboro murders, became public outings that served some kind of therapeutic purpose.

And when the shit hit the fan-and it did, more than once-Gale and Sidney had each other's backs even more fiercely than before. Even Sheriff Dewey and Deputy Judy found their way back into the fold after yet another Ghostface incarnation nearly ended their fledgling marriage.

None could ever understand why Sidney, Gale and Dewey were destined to be a part of one another's lives in such messed up and stressful ways.

"We can't always choose our families." Gale said one night. Sidney was passing by her office when the words were uttered. By then, they had discussed children-dismissed the idea-and had come to the conclusion that would be just fine if they maintained their own personalized 'buddy system'.

"No, I suppose not." Sidney agreed. The words coalesced and calmed them both. That night, the night before yet another copycat killer would emerge in a neighboring town, Sidney made them a dinner beneath the open sky and didn't even complain when Gale purposefully turned off the security cameras.


End file.
